


Golden Hearts

by x_nano_x



Series: Fnaf Au! [1]
Category: Five Nights at Freddy's, Little Witch Academia
Genre: Akko needs a hug, Alternate Universe, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blood and Gore, Diana Needs A Hug, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, I need therapy, I'm Sorry, Kinda, Please Kill Me, Quarantine got me good, Recovery, You are not gonna like croix in this one, at all, doesnt really follow the fnaf lore, idk - Freeform, no magic, okay i'm not sure it's one sided.. it's just that Croix is a complete psycho, thats still up for debate, very one sided charoix (imma say sorry right now?)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-07
Updated: 2020-08-13
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:08:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 19,807
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24058729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/x_nano_x/pseuds/x_nano_x
Summary: Family restaurants are places of happiness and joy, kids play while adults catch up. But on a fateful day five years ago 5 young teens were mercilessly slaughtered, their bodies forced into animatronic vessels to ensure no one finds them. Now meet Akko, a 19 year old who is desperate for some cash, however her hopelessly clumsy nature makes it hard to employ her. That is until she sees a certain position available in the newpaper...orThe fnaf au that literally no one ever asked for
Relationships: Diana Cavendish/Atsuko "Akko" Kagari, Ursula Callistis | Chariot du Nord/Croix Meridies
Series: Fnaf Au! [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1754983
Comments: 90
Kudos: 117





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I apologise profusely.  
> However I hope you can enjoy anyway!  
> (quarantine got me good)

Originally, she had been dragged from the comfort of her books to go get food with friends, Hannah would always moan that she never gets out enough. However they're all halfway through their time at Appleton Grammar School, now was definitely the time to be taking their studies more seriously. Alas, it _was_ Amanda's 14th Birthday today and it would be rude not to accept an invite, even ruder for a Cavendish. Obviously Hannah had gotten one, she and the redhead had been best friends since their early primary years, while Barbara seemed to tag along with Hannah everywhere so Amanda had just made it official and invited her too. While Diana would never admit to being particularly close with the brash American, they were somewhat friends due to Hannah's involvement with her.

"Hey! Cavendish! You even listening?"

Diana was pulled out of her thoughts to find expectant, emerald eyes staring at her, and the face they're attached to twisting into a frown.

"Cmon! I had to hang out with Akko, Cons and the others separately to satisfy you aristocrats.."

"Amanda!" Hannah shouted at her friend, "She just got lost in thought it's not a big deal, and you know what they're like. It's impossible to deal with all of you together!"

The red head huffed and asked again what Diana wanted on her pizza, "Pineapple and... ham please?" she answered, and the waiter recorded it down with a bored expression before stalking back to the kitchen, Amanda's horrified expression also didn't go unnoticed. 

With the adult gone Amanda immediately shot up to stare at the performing animatronics, while the other three watched curiously (Well Barbara was texting and reading NightFall but Amanda was too occupied to notice). Amanda's eyes scanned a certain fox-like animatronic, with an eye-patch over it's right eye and a hook for a hand, and a sign that read "Out Of Order". Diana stared with uncertainty, "I don't think you should get too close to it.." 

"What? Nah it's fine! Plus pirates are so cool!"

"You kids wanna see something even cooler?"

The new voice came as a surprise to all of them, even Barbara had put down her phone and book to look up, Amanda scooted back over to her friends and judged the figure in front of them. She wore a purple uniform, like most of the security at Fazbears, with a shiny golden badge attached to the pocket on her chest. Her face was quite pale and she had violet(?) coloured hair. _Either she was born with that, or she really likes the colour purple,_ Diana thought, looking for any other colour other than purple on the woman. She was smiling at them, but her eyes had a glint in them, the Cavendish could't quite place it, but she was definitely cautious of her. Hannah shared her doubts it seems, as she scooted closer to her. Amanda was the one to break the ice and urge the woman to continue. 

"Well, I heard there's a room with a secret character, and there's some kind of prize for the kids who find it.. I just so happen to know where it is, and the Birthday girl deserves to have a prize right?"

Diana stepped in front of Amanda before she could blindly agree and leered at the woman, "We don't even know your name.."

The woman gave an unreadable expression, but broke into a smile nonetheless, "Oh! Where are my manners! I'm Security Officer Meridies, but please call me Croix.." further offering the girls a short bow. While Diana remained unconvinced at the woman's antics, Amanda was completely won over, while Hannah and Barbara looked on with some curiosity, it was obvious they were going to follow this strange woman now. 

"C'mon if there's a prize I'll share! Plus the others will be soo jealous of us!"

This time Barbara spoke up, "I mean, it could be something cool, and if we don't win what's the harm?" to which Hannah nodded, and Diana could't help but become curious herself, and gave a small nod. Amanda gave an obnoxious cheer, earning stares from other customers, Croix gave a worried look and told her to keep it down "or everyone else will want to know". The American immediately calmed down and followed when Croix motioned for them to. Croix lead the teens down to the far end of the restaurant, where the wall wasn't covered in children's drawings like the rest of the establishment, but wires were visible and there was a loud buzzing sound from the generators in the backroom adjacent to the door they were being lead to. The guard unlocked the dark green door and held it open for them to enter, Barbara noticed that this was the only door made of metal and, by the way Croix held it, it was really quite heavy. _Why put something that's meant to be found behind a heavy door that most children and teens wouldn't be able to get through?_ She mused, watching Amanda run inside with no self awareness at all, Hannah pinched the bridge of her nose and followed her. Diana wasn't moving though, the brunette stared at her equally quiet friend and motioned for her to go in first. Diana gave a shy smile and cautiously wandered in, followed by Barbara, who seemed not to notice the dark glare Croix sent Diana's way. 

The room itself was dark, it was very much impossible to see without a light on, and the light from the open door didn't seem to alleviate the situation. However all the girls registered a metallic smell, it was strong enough to make them all scrunch their noses. Amanda moved to find the source of the smell, her arms outstretched due to the lack of light in the room. Hannah had opened her mouth to admonish her idiot friend when the sound of a metal door clicking shut, followed by a chuckle, then the sound of a light switch. The girls momentarily blinded by the haze of the light, before going into focus. The room's wall wasn't painted, the grey bricks were very visible on the wall, there were many loose wires hanging from the ceiling with lots of spare parts littering the shelves on the walls. A single wooden table stood in the middle of the room, with tools decorating its top, with a Freddy arm and a hook laying among them. It was very clearly a parts and services room, a very odd place to hold a competition in all honesty. However all eyes had settled into one spot in the corner of the room. There a boy was laying, his eyes unfocused and staring toward them, his mouth slightly open and his clothes torn from an obvious scuffle. A mean red patch decorated his chest and stomach, while a red substance leaked like a tap out of his mouth, his hair was matted and messy and the blood was a dark colour, he had been here at least a few hours, if not days. Diana took a minute of sheer terror, studying the boy,

"Andrew.." Hannah was staring in abject terror as she recognized the boy from her maths class, the one she and Barbara gawked over for a vast majority of said class. Come to think of it, the auburn haired girl had wondered why he wasn't around, he was supposed to be working today, she had hoped to see him. Not like this. 

Diana shared her feelings as she stared at the body of the boy she'd known since her 4th birthday, their families being close friends. 

Amanda glanced behind to see the face of Croix, her expression twisted from cheerful to dark. A sinister smile adorned her face as she glanced at the tools on the table, "Surprise!" she sang. The shadow on her face grew as she picked up a wrench from the table and examined it.

"Kids like you are so easy to trick, you all think yourselves invincible.. That's dangerous you know, that's why people like ol' Aunt Croix here have to teach you that you're not!" her smile widened, turning sweet and sickly - not unlike an old relative who just baked a pie. She began to stalk up to the four girls, batting the wrench in her hand, eyeing them with blood-lust burning in her eyes. She smiles as the girls huddled together like a bunch of penguins. 

Amanda, being the tomboy she was, put herself in front of the other three, protectively putting her arms out to block the guard and glaring straight at the face of danger. The American watched like a cornered animal as Croix got closer to them, she watched as the woman lifted the wrench to swing at her, and she made her move. The fiery red-head launched herself at Croix's waist, using her momentum to knock her off her feet, and tried to keep her weight on her to keep the woman down. Amanda grinned at her small victory, congratulating her own strength. 

"Amanda watch out!"

She turned to look at Diana at the call, as the wrench hit her in the side of her head, knocking her off of the older woman and under the table. Amanda could feel something wet dripping down the side of her face and tried to move out from the table, however her body wouldn't respond. The pain in her head was searing and the blow left her paralyzed on the floor in shock. 

Hannah gasped as her best friend was dragged by the t-shirt from under the table, her feet planted on the cold floor in fear. She could imagine herself moving, but could only watch helplessly as the American was beaten repeatedly with the wrench. The smile never leaving the face of the guard. However, Croix paused, as if mulling something over.

Barbara had taken Amanda's distraction to sneak over to the door, and started slamming on it, screaming for help. Yet they had forgotten about the room with the generators, the buzzing mercilessly drowning out their cries, along with the general noise of the restaurant. Croix slowly got up, giving the now unconscious Amanda a swift kick to the side of the head, and moved to the door, giving the brunette a polite tap on the shoulder. 

"It seems you're going to be quite noisy.. can't have that.." Meridies slipped a small pocket knife out of her trouser pocket, and swiftly slid the blade across her neck. Barbara's eye's frozen in shock as blood flowed from her neck. At this, Hannah's legs moved on their own, towards her bleeding friend, and guided her to the ground with a hand over her neck in a desperate attempt to stop the blood. Croix merely watched with some amusement at the display. making no move to attack, but absorbing the show in front of her. 

Diana fell back against the wall, watching her friends with tears streaming from her eyes. She couldn't move, she could only watch, watch Hannah's expression twist as Barbara's eyes glazed over, watch as she desperately shook her friend to keep her alive a little longer. Her eyes fell to O'Neill, bruises decorated her body and blood trickled from the wrench, her breathing was gradually slowing as the damage done was beginning to take it's final effect. It left her and Hannah, Hannah who was vulnerable and at the mercy of their attacker. The attacker who watched with a certain glee as she held her friend and whispered uselessly in an attempt to get her to move. Diana was good at biology, and had been taking some advanced studies to learn more about the human anatomy, and she knew that there was no coming back from what Croix had done to Barbara, who was likely gone by now. 

A gut-wrenching shriek tore Diana from her thoughts, Croix had grabbed the girl by her hair and dragged her to the nearest wall.

"Ready to join your friend?" Croix's voice was laced with enough venom to kill a bear. 

Diana was pretty sure she heard the twang of snapping thread near her, a new rage filled her system, she couldn't lose another friend. She shot up and closed the distance between them, latching on to the older woman's arm and preventing her from acting against Hannah. Croix shot a disdainful look at the girl. If there was one thing that the guard knew for certain, it was that she really hated this girl, her air of superiority and high status. Croix saw a spoilt rich kid who was used to getting as she pleased... not today. 

The woman roughly shoved Diana off of her arm and sneered at her, "The Little Princess won't be getting her a today~" Croix's grin widened as she received the widened stare from the blonde. She glanced at her watch, _running low on time, gotta hurry up,_ she thought as she twisted Hannah's neck until she screamed, a scream that stopped as abruptly as it started with a sickening _**crack**_. 

Diana wanted to scream herself, but her voice wouldn't obey, all she could do was sit and watch, just as before. She shut her eyes in response to Croix now towering over her - her ancestors would be ashamed, a Cavendish never gives up. But Croix moved past her, grabbing a spare hook from the foxy animatronic off of the shelf and brought it down on Amanda, making sure the blood splattered far enough to land on the young Cavendish's face. 

Croix glanced at the horrified face of Diana Cavendish, and with the hook in her hand, she slowly moved to the girl. Her teal eyes met Diana's cerulean orbs as the hook slashed across her face. Diana didn't have time to react as Croix embedded the hook into her shoulder, and brought her hands to the girl's neck. With another twist, Diana Cavendish was dropped carelessly to the floor, with the rest of Croix's victims. 

* * *

**5 Years Later**

Akko was disorganized. A trait which lead most employers to reject her and send her on her way. She was also quite lonely, while she was energetic and happy around her friends, especially now as she had started her first year at Luna Nova University; when alone, she often found herself making no effort to contact others. 5 years ago her friends went missing, well _friend,_ she was really close with Amanda O'Neill and the just the day before they had partied at the American's house to celebrate her birthday. The other three girls weren't exactly her friends, Hannah and Barbara always went out of their way to bully and tease her, while Diana would just watch and judge or correct her. Andrew had also gone missing, they were friends, but Akko didn't hang out with him outside their shared maths class (in which she would feel the glares from his two biggest fans). All in all, Akko's whole group had felt the loss of Amanda, who was presumed dead six months later along with the others. Constanze moved back to Germany while Jasminka had moved to a school in Oxford, which left her with Sucy and Lotte as her only friends in their final two years of Appleton.

The two girls hadn't overlooked Akko's retreat into her shell, Lotte had even managed to convince Sucy not to try out any more concoctions on their friend (something which Akko very much appreciated). Akko's persona in public kept teachers off of her back, and kept her adoptive mother, Chariot, from worrying too much, Akko went as far to get a dorm to keep said mother off her back. Lotte found herself answering the phone far too often for Akko, and greeting Chariot at the door of their dorm to prevent her from seeing Akko. The Japanese girl obviously felt guilty at her behaviour, but she didn't need the worry, she promised herself she would work on her studies and work hard to graduate from Luna Nova - which would prove difficult as her attentiveness in class was somewhat of a low standard. 

Anyway, Lotte suggested a change of scene, and Chariot had mentioned getting a job for some experience, if it meant earning money Akko knew she was in. It was finding a job that she couldn't screw up that was hard, and Sucy never ceased at jabbing at her failures - albeit with no bite. 

"Why not go work at that creepy restaurant down the street, Funky Fazwears or something.. " Sucy drawled why shoving the ads section of a newspaper in her friend's face. Akko glared and swiped it from the Filipino's hands and read the ad.

"It's a night guard position, I could probably study while I work, who's gonna break into an old restaurant anyway?"

"Probably to see the majestic sight of you actually studying for a change" Sucy snickered and received a jab from Lotte as a consequence. Akko stuck her tongue out while dialing the number of the ad on her phone. After a brief conversation Akko was smiling like an idiot,

"I got the job"

Akko started a few days later, while management prepared her for her role beforehand. She had brought some study materials to use while she waited out the six hours her shift required. The pizzeria had seen less business these days, especially as the sudden disappearance of 5 teens had lead a trail there, less people felt safe going there. Akko made her way to a room with two doors facing the two corridors to the dining area and stage, and made herself comfortable inside. For about an hour, she sat and read through some material for her exam next week - she honestly though studying performing arts would be easier. Obviously, however, she got bored and decided to take herself on a tour of the old restaurant, staring at the long rows of tables all made up for service the next day; adorned in with cloths and party hats and paper polka dot plates. She then rested her eyes on the animatronics on the main stage, Freddy was standing with a dead look on his face, well they all had dead looks they're robots, accompanied by Bonnie and Chica, while Foxy stood in his cove, and hadn't moved since the restaurant first opened. Akko found herself partial to the fox, it had been Amanda's favourite and so she adopted her friend's interest to respect her memory. However, what she did not expect, was to hear a crash from inside a room with a big metal door. The brunette cautiously made her way to the room, getting a dark feeling from it, and pulled out a set of keys she was given by management and slowly unlocked the door. It took a few minutes to get the door open, it was remarkably heavy, and needed a brick to keep it from locking shut. 

She switched on the light to find a Bonnie head had fallen off of the, now broken, shelf and landed next to an empty looking suit. _Didn't know there was a golden suit.._ Akko mused as she made her way to it, even without eyes, the thing seemed to watch her every move, and Akko couldn't help but feel uncomfortable as she picked the head up from next to it. Trying to ease herself, she looked around the room and noticed some strange stains everywhere, she managed to scare herself more. The brunette peered back at the suit, crouching in front of it, _it looks so lonely,_ she thought as she brushed her hand over it's face, it was dirty and covered with the same kind of stains as the room. She took out a wipe and attempted to clean it, if you asked why she did it, she wouldn't know what to tell you except that it felt familiar. 

" _Do you mind?_ "

Red eyes shot around the room, desperately searching for who said that, "Damn, I'm really losing it.. maybe I need Sucy's concoctions after all"

"I assure you that I'm quite real"

There it is again, she wondered if it was a good idea to leave her guard jacket inside the office, maybe management were waiting outside.

"Dear God Akko, _behind you_ "

Needless to say she did _not_ want to look behind her, nor did she want to know how it knew her name, however general curiosity seemed to take over her shaking form as she turned to look behind her. Standing over her, tapping her foot impatiently was.. a girl. She had blonde and teal hair - it had to be died, was it really natural? _Wait_ , Akko thought,

"Diana?" Akko had asked herself more than the glowing.. translucent? Figure in front of her. She scooted back against the suit, hoping to gain some kind of comfort against it.

The figure (Diana?) shook her head as if her identity was the most obvious thing in the world. In all honesty Akko wanted to to scream, and run back to the university, and sleep.. forever. However she still found herself curious as to how Diana was here, with her, _alive_. 

"Well _excuse me_ for being surprised to see someone who has been presumed _dead_ for 5 years!"

Diana's eyes flickered over her, confused, _dead? Was she really dead? 5 Years?_ , "How old are you?"

"Uh" Akko scratched the back of her head "nineteen?"

The heiress' eyes widened, it _had_ been 5 years, what happened? She pinched the bridge of her nose to try and remember what on earth she had been doing for five years.

Then it dawned on her.

Amanda's birthday, the woman in purple, Andrew.. They had all died. But why was she only aware 5 years later? Suddenly more images flooded her mind, more people wearing that uniform, each one different, each one bloodied and dead. She then then saw four other robots, blood on their hands. She was always sitting.. blood.. on her hands.. Diana stared at Akko wide eyed, she wasn't wearing the correct uniform, _typical,_ nevertheless she could see her face. The other guards had been faceless, what did she do? Her form flickered and she noted that Akko was now standing with concern spread over her features. 

" _Leave._ "

Akko recoiled slightly at the venom in those words, Diana was always mean but never had she spoken with such hate on her tongue. 

"I don't understand, what's-"

" ** _Leave._** " The hate wasn't meant for the brunette, but rather to scare her, it was truly directed at herself. Diana stared at her hands, and stared at the golden suit. They all did unspeakable things, Akko had only pulled her out because she wasn't in the correct uniform - _or because she's familiar_...

Diana felt herself glaring when Akko made no move to leave, but stared on with wide eyes, as if realizing something big. The girl in front of her then moved to touch her, only to move right through, letting out a pained gasp. 

"If y-you're dead.. then-" Akko covered her face with her hands, they really _were_ gone, her silent tears turned to sobs as the realization struck her like a brick. _They're all gone_. She had held hope, even if only a little, that Amanda would burst into the classroom obnoxiously shouting about being back, leading Diana, Barbara and Hannah in tow, facepalming at her antics. Andrew would appear in the park and they'd mess about like old times. Over time the hope had grown weak, but it was there, yet in just one night it was _shattered_. Not grieving in hope had lead to a burst of the banks as the truth became painfully clear to her. 

Diana's glare softened into a stare, a surprised one at that, she hadn't expected the sudden outburst - at least not of sadness. Part of her wanted to comfort the girl, tell her that everything's going to be okay - even though it might not be. Yet another side, newer and darker, told her to use it against her, break her into never coming back or leave her in the same state as every night guard before her. She shuddered at the new darkness of her own mind, stepping away from the sobbing girl in fear of doing something regrettable. Instead she allowed her to lay against the suit which she finally recognized as her vessel, and sob herself to sleep in hope that the size and softness of the suit would help her rest easier. 

Akko was gone by 6, and Diana watched her leave with a new melancholy in her eyes. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I was not expecting this to get any attention, let alone the attention it's got  
> Thanks so so much for the bookmarks, kudos and comments on the last chapter - I came up with this thing out of nowhere with no real expectation for it, so thank you so much x
> 
> Also my planning and organisational are subpar at best (in other works i suck) so any ideas for chapters, characters and anything you wanna see is very much welcome. I'll try my best to add ideas I think might work with the main storyline.
> 
> Anyway, enough from me, hope you enjoy this next chapter!

It's a lot to take in, that the ghost of a friend(?) is haunting an old pizzeria in a big bear suit. Anyone with a sound mind would call Akko crazy if she told them, which means she can't really quit or management would think she was just flaking on them. The girl decided that she wasn't going to tell anyone about anything until she was sure she wasn't suffering withdrawal from Sucy's experimentation, something which is highly likely. 

"Akko.. classes started a while ago. Why are you still here?"

Akko looked up from her laptop to see Lotte staring back at her with a worried expression, she hadn't gone to class in favour of researching the pizzeria and the disappearance of her peers. The smaller girl seemed to be gathering some books for her next class, and waited by the door of their dorm for an answer.

"I'm not feeling well?" She tried, but Lotte looked very unconvinced. Instead of retorting, however, she merely shook her head and left the dorm. Leaving Akko with a renewed sense of guilt for making her friend mildly disappointed in her. Red eyed returned to the research at hand; looking through profiles of those missing, profiles of suspects and when hey were last seen. It was the list of suspects that had Akko's attention, they were pictures of random men and women, almost as if the police had just taken random people off of the street to make it look like an official investigation. They all had bored faces and the majority were men, with a few women littered in, none of them looked like killers. _I guess that's kind of the point though.._ She mused. She continued her research until Lotte and Sucy returned to the dorm at around 8pm. 

"Whoa Akko's working?" drawled Sucy as she grinned toward the brunette at the desk. However the lack of reaction from her friend unnerved her slightly, Akko _always_ reacted. Even Lotte threw a worried look, not even bothering to admonish Sucy. 

Akko returned their glances with a tired gaze, "Hey guys, imma head out in a few hours so lemme rest for a bit 'kay?" She yawned and shut the laptop, slipping to her bunk and almost instantly falling asleep. 

Sighing, Lotte set her an alarm for 11pm so she wouldn't be late for her shift before heading to the communal bathroom to take a shower. Sucy didn't move, silently watching her Japanese friend sleep. She would never admit to caring, but she did, the light in Akko's eyes didn't shine much after what went down those years ago. She at least reserved some for outside the door, and even tried for her dorm-mates, but now she just looked exhausted and Sucy was wondering whether this new job was more of a hindrance than a blessing. The Filipino decided that she would wait until tomorrow to talk to Akko and make sure that Lotte is nowhere nearby so she can't be jabbed for speaking her mind. After about a minute of scrutinizing the sleeping girl, Sucy sat at the desk and worked on some material for her chemistry exam. 

Akko had shot up at the sound of the alarm, clumsily fumbling for some fresh clothes and going to wash briefly in the communal bathroom. She then grabbed some snacks and headed off to the restaurant, not bothering with study materials this time (she knew she was never going to study, why bother?). She managed to arrive a minute before her shift started, and actually managed to wear her purple jacket this time. After dumping her bag in the office she went and inspected the other animatronics, glancing at the metal door at the far end of the restaurant every so often. She noted that all of them had odd stains all over them, and her suspicions as to what it was were rising. What Akko didn't notice, were the emerald eyes watching her from the Pirate's Cove, eyes that didn't recognise her, but recognised the purple of the Guard jacket she wore. 

Something powered on from the cove, causing Akko to spin around and stare at the source. The Foxy animatronic had powered on and it was staring right at her, peeking from the purple curtain. She took a small step back, her back pressing against the edge of the stage. The visible eye of the fox never leaving her, she glanced at the office, knowing it had doors that a robot wouldn't be able to get through. Shifting her gaze back to the cove she noted that the robot had moved further out of the cove, bent over like a feral animal. An audible gulp resounded the deathly silent dining area, red eyes wide as they tried to assess the situation - something Akko had never _ever_ been talented at. Akko seemed quick to prove her lack of skill when her foot slipped a bit too far out to keep any kind of balance, and she fell back against the stage. The fox took the incentive to charge out of the cove and creep around the maze of tables. Panting, Akko too shot up, scrambling away from the predator in front of her. Creeping turned back to charging as the brunette barely managed to escape the hook that came for her. 

"Arrgh! Welcome to Pirate Cove!" sounded from a broken, gargling voice-box as it attacked, repeating just as relentlessly as the hook swung over and over. Akko managed to gain some control over her actions and made a sprint for the office, trying to ignore the metal stomps as the thing chased her. She didn't expect for it to run ahead of her though, blocking her way to the office - in fact it even seemed like it was thinking while it stared at her with it's jaw hanging open. The brunette stopped herself before she ran into the foxes outstretched arms and stared up at it. It was _huge._ Coloured a brick-red colour with a beige snout. It's jaw was clearly broken, displaying a lot of very sharp teeth ( _Why do they even need teeth like that?_ ) and it wore some very mean tears in it's chest. The thing didn't have proper legs! It just had the exposed endoskeleton, the eyepatch made it look more like a pirate. But it didn't belong in a kid's restaurant, it looked like something out of a horror attraction. 

It kept gargling the same Pirate Cove message as it slowly stomped towards her, it's jaw swinging softly as it moved. Akko wanted to scream. She wanted to curl up and wake up in her dorm, hear Sucy tease her and Lotte gawk over that book series she loved so much. But she was stuck here, targeted by some kind of evil fox robot. Behind her, she could hear the shuffling of the other robots as they slowly shuffled off of the stage. She needed to move or they would surround her, she couldn't get to her office though. Her crimson orbs darted around for a second hiding place. The parts room. Without thinking too much, she ran and vaulted over the immaculately made tables. The shuffles behind got louder. The fox was charging at her. She was so close to the door, but the giant bear (Freddy?) was making its way to her. Her legs were burning, but it seemed the fox had trouble jumping, and the bear was big and slow.

She almost slammed herself into the door as she leapt over the final table, she fumbled for her keys. The jingling almost drowned out the thumping of the robots closing in. _Come on.. Come on!_ Akko inwardly screamed at herself, letting out a cry when she got the key. With a click she unlocked the door, and with adrenaline-fueled strength she forced the heavy door open. The fox was also at the door, and she fought and pushed to close the door behind her. Akko allowed herself to cry once the door clicked, signifying that it was locked again.

With a pained cry, Akko slid down the cold door and sat there. She was exhausted. The sickening screech of metal scratching metal could be heard just outside the door, along with _Arrgh! Welcome to Pirate Cove!_ still on repeat - muffled a bit by the thickness of the door. 

"Take that off."

Oh _great._ Akko peered up at the golden suit that remained in the far corner of the room. Next to it stood Diana, glaring at her jacket with great disdain. It was weird, she remembered the girl berating her for never wearing her correct uniform. _God forbid_ she roll her skirt a little. 

"Are you even listening? Take it _**off**_ Akko!"

The force at which she was given the command compelled her to quickly shuffle out of the jacket. She was not going take her chances after what just happened. She wanted to talk to the girl in front of her, but didn't want to admit to being crazy. Then again, she _had_ just been hunted by a band of restaurant mascots...

Diana glared at the jacket, she hated that colour. Purple was the last thing she saw before she died, _purple_ was the colour she saw when she watched her friends die. To see Atsuko Kagari wearing it was a mockery of everything she knew about the girl. As far as she remembered the girl was a klutz, she was never on time and never wore the correct uniform - let's not even start on her habits when it came to studying. But she always wanted the girl to do better, and she knew that she was one of the kindest people at Appleton. Diana knew for certain that Akko should _never_ be associated with that cursed colour. She shifted her gaze to the girl in question, she looked like a mess. Her hair was sticking to her face and she was very much crying, she could hear the fox outside the door, and the laughter of the bear. Diana shook her head, their aggressiveness was caused by Akko actually following uniform regulation, who would've thought? 

"T-this was definitely not on the ad" the stammering voice brought Diana out of her thoughts. 

"No, but would you have taken it if they mentioned vengeful spirits and a chance of death?" Diana tried to ease the mood, of course it didn't work. She wasn't Akko, she was hopeless with people. In fact the brunette glared at her, apparently not appreciating her little jab. Well, they never really were friends..

Akko took a minute to scrutinize this image of Diana, she was in casual wear - it was weird to see her out of uniform really - and she was standing with her arms crossed as usual. Her gaze was less stony though, as if pitying the brunette's situation, if only a little. What drew her attention the most, was the chain around the girl's ankle, a chain which lead straight to the empty golden suit. _Is she stuck in here?_

"You know, we all died in here..." Diana spoke to the air more than she did to Akko, her eyes landing softly on the red eyed girl, "That jacket - no - that _colour_ was the last thing most of us saw."

"Us?"

"Well obviously Akko! If I'm occupying this.. bear.. who do you think is occupying the band of misfits outside!" It honestly was quite obvious, she almost wanted to chuckle at Akko's ability to be oblivious. She really hadn't pieced together that the monsters outside weren't just _robots_. She pinched the bridge of her nose upon hearing Akko piece it all together with a hearty " _Ohh.._ "

But if Diana died in here, and she was trapped like Akko thought..

"Why are you in here?"

"If you haven't noticed, I'm lacking the parts to allow me to move this body.. I was merely placed in here. If I'm honest, it's quite uncomfortable to be in this room" 

_Right_. That suit didn't have the endoskeleton.

Diana sighed again, she really didn't like staying in here. She made a point to never focus on any aspect of the room, reliving death is a painful and traumatic experience - ghost or not. Seeing that _woman_ take their lives in her hands, extinguishing them. She felt hot tears on her cheeks, _I'm crying?_

Akko had her eyes trained on the suit now, which has some weird black liquid leaking from the eye sockets. She also saw the heiress crying beside it, you cant really hug a ghost so..

The blonde felt something rather warm on her front. Confused, she look toward where Akko was seated, except she wasn't sitting their now. 

"I'm sorry you're stuck like this..."

The voice pulled her gaze to the Golden Freddy suit, Akko was kneeling in front of it. She was _embracing it?_ That darkness pulled at her mind again, telling her to get the brunette off - _she shouldn't trust her_. But it was so _warm_ and she hadn't realised how cold she felt until the girl hugged the suit. A ghost of a smile graced her lips. She moved and sat next to her vessel, allowing her old classmate to gift her with this new warmth. 

"Thank you, Akko."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the shorter chapter, but I wanted to split up Akko's moment with Diana. Next chapter can then easily focus on her interaction with the others in the restaurant, and then Sucy's little talk.  
> I promise the next one will be longer though!
> 
> Thanks for reading, see you in the next chapter!
> 
> (I'm going to try an update as often as possible - the quarantine in the UK makes it a little easier for me to do so. But I also want to make these chapters as great for you to read as possible)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always thank you for the Kudos!

It took some time, but Akko eventually let go of the giant bear and spared a glance at her companion. Diana had sat next to the bear with a rare look of contentment in her eyes, a look the Japanese girl had never seen the Brit wear. Her eyes trailed back to the door, the fox still sharpened its gook against the door, as if reminding her it was still there - she was still in danger. From the corner of her eye, she saw Diana get up and stride across the room, stretching the chain to it's limit. It seemed she couldn't go any further than just in front of the door. The blonde was apparently whispering something at the door, the scratching had halted while she did so.

Diana was urging the fox to take a minute, although she knew that would be hard for someone so aggressive all the time, and let Akko out peacefully. When the screech of metal on metal hadn't resumed, she concluded that it was safe and turned back to Akko. 

"I think it's safe for you now" 

Akko wasn't sure what Diana said, or what she did. But it _did_ seem like she could leave with little consequence now. Slowly, she moved to the door, while Diana moved back to her place by the suit. With a trembling hand she twisted the handle, and opened the door. She struggled the door open and found herself met with four huge animatronics. They all stared blankly at her, huddled around the door like children at a show. Akko pushed the brick to hold the door, and took a cautious step outside the safety of the room. The bots all jolted, earning a shriek and Akko covering her face in a defensive stance. She waited. Nothing happened.

Slowly, she moved her hands away from her face, the mascots in front of her hadn't moved an inch. However, there were now four teens standing in front of each bot. Akko's eyes glimmered with recognition at the sight. In front of Chica on the far left, stood a girl with auburn hair done up in a high(ish) ponytail in a t-shirt with a skirt, her eyes glinting with a familiar annoyance. In front of Bonnie, who stood next to Chica, stood a more meek looking girl with long black hair, flowing freely. She wore a hoodie and a similar skirt to the girl next to her. In front of the Freddy, who was next to Bonnie, but stood a pace behind the others, stood a tall boy with short brown hair. He wore a Fazbear uniform and had an infinitely bored expression upon his features. However, Akko's eyes truly froze when she looked upon the Foxy animatronic. In front of it stood a girl, a little shorter than the boy, with fiery red hair and a boisterous expression. She wore a simple band t-shirt and a pair of shorts and stood with her arms crossed, seemingly leaning against the fox. They all shared the same translucency as Diana, and all eyes were drawn to Akko. 

"Akko?"

Tears sprung back to Akko's eyes upon hearing Amanda's voice, a voice she thought she wouldn't be hearing again. She stared at the American with a rekindled sadness, whilst also remembering the events of tonight's shift. Akko wanted to be happy, but the fear of the fox behind her completely prevented it. 

Amanda caught on to Akko's unsure expression, and glanced back at her vessel. In her defense, she couldn't see Akko. She only saw purple, and an anger overtook her. Now, she wasn't wearing purple, and Amanda could only wonder what would've happened if her best friend wasn't so nimble. 

" _Ehem._ " 

Both Akko and Amanda turned to look at Hannah, who was eyeing them with annoyance. 

"I'm glad you're happy to see each other 'n all, but isn't it suspicious that she's here? She's too young to work night shifts.."

Akko shot the girl a glare,

"I'm _nineteen_.."

It was Hannah's turn to glare. _Nineteen?_ How could Akko be nineteen, while they were 14. They were all in the same class. _How long have we been here?_ The girl mused. 

"It seems we have been trapped in this establishment for a good five years.."

Hannah looked past Akko and into the room she came from, _a room she knew way too well_ , to find that the voice was coming from the inside. _Right,_ Diana was in there. She likely didn't have the energy to stretch herself enough to get to the doorway. With a sigh, she turned back to Akko. 

"You think you could move her closer to the door?"

She frowned at the face Akko replied with, _God this girl is insufferable_. Hannah was only mildly surprised when the Japanese girl retreated to the room. A rather loud "Akko!" resounded from inside, followed by a soft and slow scraping. Diana was the first to emerge from the room, with an embarrassed blush dusting her cheeks. Followed by Akko, who looked _very_ pleased with herself. She _had_ moved a heavy suit across a room, said suit was sitting against the wall right next to the doorway - so it was still out of sight.

Amanda stifled a laugh at Diana's expression, earning a look from Hannah and Barbara. After that the group stood, an awkward silence washing over them. Amanda shifted her gaze back to Akko, opting to start a conversation.

"So.. Akko! Uhh.. How ya been?" She tried, and noted the gentle facepalm Andrew gave at her pathetic attempt at conversation starting. 

Akko was about to answer, but was interrupted by an uncharacteristically pissed off Diana,

"Is that really all you can say after trying to _kill_ the girl, O'Neill?"

Diana may not have shouted, but anyone could tell that she was _seething_. The heiress didn't know _why_ she was suddenly feeling protective of a girl that she had never been friends with before, but it felt like the right thing to do. Her words obviously had some effect, as Amanda's expression melted into shame, her eyes now trained on the floor. She shifted her glare to her other three friends, they weren't much better, all looking anywhere but Akko and Diana.

Surprisingly enough, it was Barbara who stepped forward. She stared straight at Akko, who in turn stared back with a confused expression. 

"We're sorry."

She didn't have to specify what she was sorry for, Akko understood. She offered the girl one of her bright smiles and a thumbs up - which she extended to the rest of the group in front of her. Akko then turned to Amanda.

"I finished Appleton, my final grades weren't _all bad_ " She chuckled, "I was actually good enough to get into Luna Nova with Lotte and Sucy"

Amanda grinned at that, if that girl had her mind on something, she would make sure she got it done. However she was confused as to why only Lotte and Sucy were with her. Constanze and Jasminka had been part of the group too. "What about Cons and Jas?"

Akko's expression dampened, "Well.. Cons moved back to Germany. Jas said her mum got a job near Oxford.. so she moved away too." Akko knew that both of them were badly affected by Amanda's disappearance, but she wouldn't hurt the American by telling her. Amanda only nodded before stepping back against the fox. 

Diana stood, both surprised and proud that the brunette managed to get to Luna Nova, whilst bitter that her chance of going was taken from her. 

"I believe we should be getting back to our places, Akko you should move Diana back to her spot in that room.." 

Andrew spoke with little emotion, but in a way the commanded respect. Hannah huffed as she disappeared into her vessel, Barbara following suit. Andrew also heeded his own words and shuffled with them back to the stage. Amanda glanced at Akko with a small smile before leaving herself. Overall it was an awkward interaction for everyone, it isn't every day that you get to talk to dead people.

Akko turned to Diana, who stared at the room with discomfort. She was reluctant to go all the way back in. 

"I'm.. that room is.."

"I'll be back tomorrow y'know! I can uhh.. come and see you first thing?"

Diana looked thankful, and more inclined to return to the room. Akko made her way inside and pushed the suit back to where it was, she was specifically told by management _not_ to touch any of them, but Akko wasn't one to follow rules. 

"In future, try not to bring that jacket, the colour doesn't suit you anyway."

Akko was perplexed by Diana's request, but it brought her a new question.

"Do you know who did this to you? How you ended up in these big mascots?"

Diana wanted to answer. However as she thought about it, she felt the darkness pulling at her mind, it gave her a headache. A thoughtful expression turned to a pained one as she struggled to remember how she ended up trapped in her golden vessel. _She'll use what you say to hurt you.. She's like **her**_. Diana's head was spinning now, she felt her own consciousness slipping. She could faintly hear the brunette calling for her as she staggered to the suit, and felt a dark anger bubble inside her. But instead of saying anything, she heard the golden suit. It lead out a deep, piercing scream which caused Akko to stumble back near the doorway. The heiress didn't want to hurt her, but something inside her did, something resentful. Without thinking she spun on her heel, glaring daggers at the brunette and shouted at her. She doesn't even know what she said, only that she fell into an abyss after. A slumber inside her vessel. 

Akko was _terrified_ it was a simple question, and Diana had managed to scare her more than Amanda did earlier. She hadn't meant to make her so upset. The way Diana had glared at her. Her eyes were pitch black, that darkness leaking from them. The scream. She had also said something, a name, shouting at her as if it was her own.

_Who's Croix?_

* * *

Akko had arrived back at her dorm at around 7am. Allowing her an hour to rest before classes start, she collapsed on her bunk, not even bothering to change. Her shift had taken a lot out of her. 

It took Lotte a good ten minutes to shake her friend awake, 8:30; she had half an hour until classes start. 

"Leave her, you have your first class together right? Just tell them Akko will be late." 

Sucy stared at Lotte with an unreadable expression, but the smaller girl simply nodded and left to grab some food before class. Akko was just sitting up, stretching lazily with a yawn. Her eyes widened as she checked her watch

"Crap!"

Sucy rolled her visible eye, striding over to the bumbling brunette and whacking her on the side of her head. Said girl glared at her with a "Sucyyy!" rubbing the sore spot. 

"Shut up and listen. You've been acting weird lately, well.. weirder than usual. Actually for the past few years." She drawled, noting how Akko had started staring at her hands, "You need to see someone."

Akko's eyes shot up in surprise, "No I don't! I'm absolutely-

"Shut up. Don't think I don't see the way you deflate when no one is around. You skip class a lot more than usual and you put on some sort of weird show for everyone around you." Sucy would never _ever_ admit to caring, and she wasn't one to play with her words. But Akko _was_ her friend, and like any other friend, she wanted the Akko she knew back. The idiot who was an idiot all the time, not just an idiot for show. She watched as Akko seemed to shrink into herself, struggling to answer. Sighing, Sucy stepped away and headed for the door herself.

"Think about it, Lotte is worried about you too and she keeps coming to me about it - it's irritating." She glided out, the door shutting behind her. 

Akko sighed herself, deciding to put Sucy's words at the back of her mind for now. Picking up her laptop, she opened Google and typed into the search bar, _Fazbears missing teens_. Several articles came up, she picked the first one. 

**_On the morning of March 19th, four teens going by the names of Diana Cavendish, Amanda O'Neill, Barbara Parker, Hannah England and Andrew Hanbridge were reported missing. The three former had reportedly been celebrating the Birthday of Amanda O'Neill two days prior, while the latter had left for his Saturday job in the early morning. All of them were seen at the Fazbear Restaurant before their disappearance. Originally the parents had reached out to UKN in the hopes that someone would find them, however police had suspected that these teens didn't simply run away._ **

**_As many as five suspects were rounded up and questioned: Jeremy Fitzgerald, Fritz Smith, William Afton, Michael Schmidt and Croix Meridies. They were all seen near the teens, or worked at the restaurant at the time. However due to a lack of evidence tying anyone to any foul play, the police were forced to postpone the investigation until further notice._ **

**_If you have any information regarding the situation, please contact the police immediately._ **

Akko stared at the screen, rather, stared at the last name in the list of suspects. _Croix_.. _Wasn't that the name that Diana screamed?_ Akko thought. She decided to do a bit more investigating, she was late to class anyway. She typed the woman's name into the search bar. There weren't many results, but there was an article by UKN with background information on the suspects. She clicked it and skimmed through most of the names on the list, stopping at Croix. 

_**Croix Meridies** _

_**Age: 33** _

_**Born: 13th October** _

_**Nationality: Italian** _

_**Was working as a security guard on the day of the disappearance. Some workers had said that they saw her speaking with four of the teens directly, but later refuted their statements. Croix is described as hard working and friendly with all the customers at Fazbears. Croix has a long history with the company, working at many of the locations. She's often involved with the maintenance of the famous Animatronics, holding the characters in a special place in her heart. After the disappearance, she resigned from her position at the restaurant, and gave no comment on where she would go next.** _

_**Whist completing most of her schooling in Italy, she attended Luna Nova University in the UK. She studied engineering at an undergraduate level and graduated at the top of her class.** _

Akko noted that the article on Croix seemed poorly written, as if someone had changed a lot of information last minute. Further, it was really _short_ and gave very little important information on the woman. The brunette was pulled from the screen at the buzz of her phone.

 _ **Mum:**_ _Could you come to my office? I have something important to tell you x_

Confusion spread across her features, had Sucy gone to her? Maybe Lotte had gone and expressed her worry for Akko, it made sense, and Chariot had been a lot more careful around the girl lately. She quickly closed the lid of her laptop and grabbed her dorm key before leaving toward Chariot's office. Her corridor was full of the cheaper dorms at Luna Nova, offering shared rooms with a communal bathroom at the end of a corridor. It was self-catering too, there was a kitchen and common room for each corridor just down the stairs. Akko's was D, with about five other rooms (with three to four people each) around her. Corridors A to C were among the most expensive, offering dual to single rooms, each with en suites and a larger common room with food service, there was no need for them to have a kitchen. 

Akko made her way down the winding stairs and sauntered past the common rooms. Teachers' offices were a part of the main building along with the classrooms and lecture halls. The brunette always hated being called to an office, as it meant that her grades were slipping or she simply annoyed one of the teachers. Chariot was a performing arts tutor, but she was still training so she rarely taught a class alone. Akko closed in on her mothers door, giving it a light knock before hearing "Come in!" from the chipper voice of her adoptive mother.

Chariot was sitting behind a small desk with a monitor sitting atop it. She gave Akko a soft smile as she sat on the plastic chair opposite the teacher. It was then Akko noticed a woman standing beside the red-head, a similar smile gracing her features. She had lilac coloured hair and striking green eyes. To Akko, she looked painfully familiar.

"I'm not entirely surprised you weren't in class, so I notified my colleague that you would be with me for a while.. Please try and go to class in future" Chariot didn't quite admonish her, it was more of an encouragement to do better. Akko knew this wasn't the main subject, Chariot was stalling a little. 

"Now, I've been.. seeing someone for a while." Akko's eyes closed in on the standing woman beside Chariot, "She's really lovely, and we've decided that we want to move in together. However I wanted to make sure you're okay with having a new face around the house.." Akko turned back to her adoptive mother, offering an encouraging smile at the woman's struggle to get her words out. However the familiarity of this woman, coupled with a short term memory that could rival Dory, made Akko very uncomfortable. 

"Akko, this is Croix," Chariot gestured at the woman beside her, who gave a small bow at her introduction. 

Croix? _Croix?_ The woman from the article, Akko's face was drained of colour.

_Oh dear God._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I honestly thought this was longer.. apparently it's not?  
> Also I'm aware that this chapter isn't among the best, but shit is gonna start to get real from next chapter on!  
> Feel free to leave feedback and any ideas you might like to see in future chapters
> 
> See you in the next one!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry sorry I feel like I'm being a little slow..   
> I may have gotten slightly distracted with school work and by the final season of She-ra (which left me shook btw)  
> Anyways sorry again, hope you enjoy the chapter and thanks for the kudos and comments!
> 
> Ah.. um this one might be a little dark, so here's your warning before reading (it's also more Diana-centric)

The sound of children singing and dancing to Fazbear songs could be heard a mile down the street. Even with the place in decline, the ignorance of children kept it living. Of course the parents were becoming a little more than concerned at the increasing presence of glitches and jitters the robotic mascots that stole the kids' hearts, but as always, the ignorance of children prevails. 

Even muffled, the sound burst into the parts and services room. The annoying jingles ringing in a certain blonde's ears (ethereal ears? Bear ears?), it was hard to think and reflect with the infernal sound ever present around her. However Diana could be thankful that she was shut off from the children, she was never very good with them, and didn't like the thought of being prodded and played with by their tiny little hands. She wondered how the others fared, singing for them all day, were they conscious like her?

A dark presence in her mind pulled her from her initial thoughts. It was becoming familiar to her now, the feeling of hot rage. Yet she always prided herself on the expert handling of her emotions, coming from a family like hers, that much was expected. Yet this _darkness_ kept pulling at her, showing her things.

_A fox stood over a body, red decorating it as if someone had gone at it with a paintbrush. The foxes jaw hung open, broken as ever and its hook hung in the air, ready to brutalize again. The same red dripped from it, creating a dripping sound on the puddle below it. However the foxes visible eye was different. Black. With a small white pinprick that looked and felt awfully familiar. The body below it twitched, releasing the last spasms of life before going still, eyes open wide._

Diana didn't fully understand what she was looking at, _was that truly Amanda?_ Again, her mind was pulled to images of a bear, a purple rabbit and a chicken. Each time it was a different body, each one had differing wounds. However, with all the differences the scenes held, Diana saw those same black eyes, the same little white pinpricks. It confused her. Yet in every single memory, those eyes were _trained_ on her. She wasn't in the room. But she couldn't move, how had she gotten out of this god forsaken room, why on _earth_ were they looking at her with that gaze. A gaze looking for acknowledgement. The images of mascots standing over bodies flickered away from her, presenting her with something new. 

_There were no tables in the dining room, just the cold tiled floor that covered the majority of the restaurant. There were no animatronics on stage, or in the cove. Somehow, Diana was in the middle of the empty dining room, her suit facing the empty stage. She blinked. The room around her had warped, the lights were of a red hue, making the room seem darker. She still sat in the middle, but on something softer. She couldn't part from the golden suit, stuck sitting inside it, forcing the head to move as the only way to gather her surroundings. Through its eyes she looked down, why was the floor so soft? As she looked down, she was met with more red, it was sticky and dripped down whatever she was sitting on. As she adjusted to the sight, a hand became apparent, then an arm, then two, then legs, bodies, faces. Piles, piles around her, leading up to her. The faces stood out. Eyes. Eyes that bore into her. All the faces were turned to her, staring. Not a single glare. Faces frozen in eternal fear, mouths agape. They had no identity, the pile seemed to get higher. Diana blinked again. Forcing the suits head up, she saw four huge figures. The bear and the rabbit standing side by side. The fox to the rabbit's side, the chicken next to the bear. The four surrounded her in a semi circle. All looking down at her, judging her. Their feet just far enough away from the bodies to not be covered in blood. She blinked again. They were gone. There was no dining room. No stage. No cove. No restaurant. Just a golden bear, sitting on it's throne. A throne of bodies. A woman's laugh resounded around Diana. The figure stepped out of the darkness. Purple uniform, purple hair. Those piercing eyes. Her laugh mocked her, her eyes mocked her. Diana was shaking in the suit, it wasn't letting her out. She thrashed and screamed while the laughing got louder. From the chaos of her mind she knew one thing. She **hated** that laugh, those eyes. The woman behind them. **She hated Croix**._

With a gasp Diana was thrust out of the vision, the darkness ever present in her mind. They had killed people, yet so had she. The pile of those bodies ingrained into her memory. 

There was no music outside, nor the sound of any children. Diana reckoned that the restaurant had closed for the day. Not having a clock in the parts room suddenly became apparent to the girl as she wanted to know the time. She also desperately wanted to silence the new darkness, the new voice in her head. It was whispering to her, empty promises of happiness and freedom. All night-guards are bad. Yet as the thought passed her, the image of red eyes filled her vision. Their kindness. _Warmth._

Then a crash outside the room.

A crash followed by a clumsy "Sorry!"

"Ugh Akko! I swear you haven't changed! Pick up my cupcake!" Diana chuckled, it seemed Hannah was the same as ever to the girl. 

"Oi! Calm down princess, it was an accident. She apologised!"

"Shut up Amanda!"

Diana rolled her eyes, even in death her peers never got along. 

"There! Cupcake back on its plate" Came Akko's happy-go-lucky voice.

She could hear Amanda laughing at Hannah's overreaction over the cupcake, Andrew sighing and telling them to stop. She couldn't hear Barbara, she probably opted to watch the commotion. Akko was laughing like Amanda, clearly finding Hannah's strange love for the cupcake amusing. Yet she was only allowed to hear it. She couldn't move the whole suit alone, and they were having so much fun. They were having so much fun that they forgot her. _They didn't need her_. 

_They forgot she existed.._

_They are better without her.._

_Give up.._

The voices in her head got louder, the darkness in her mind grew bigger as their laughing continued. She was never one for crowds, but being alone was always a _choice_ it had never been _forced_ upon her like this. This loneliness _hurt._

Diana wanted to go home. She wanted to go and hug her aunt, she wanted to visit her mother's grave and talk to her like she did every Sunday. She wanted to be teased by her cousins and laugh when she inevitably outwitted them. To finish her final years of Appleton, take that final exam. She wanted to stress about exams and have Anna drag her away from her desk to sleep. Diana wanted to attend Luna Nova; she wanted to attend with Hannah, Barbara and Amanda. To have Andrew's family visit hers at the mansion for their fortnightly dinners. Mostly, for some reason, she wanted to get to know the annoying brunette that would be everywhere she was. The brunette that obnoxiously swore to beat Diana in the midterm exams despite never studying and using classes as extended nap breaks. She wanted to _know_ Akko better. She wanted all of this.

_She was never going to get it._

The platinum blonde slid down the wall of the parts room. Her knees coming to her chest as her hands locked together and pressed against her face, tears spilling from her orbs and overflowing her hands. Choked sobs were all she could hear now, the laughter outside had dimmed to the sound of her despair. Instead of getting what she wanted, she's stuck where she died. Stuck where she and her friends were _brutalized_. She was stuck with hate, stuck murdering countless employees. So many that she can't pick out faces, she can never pick out individuals. _Who would be next?_

Diana didn't hear the sound of the lock clicking. The creak of the metal door and Akko grunting to force it open, and she didn't hear what the girl was saying.

_Why should she?_

Akko had it all. She had a family, she got to go to the school of her dreams, she was free to go anywhere she liked. _She was alive._ Diana doesn't know why she flipped from wanting to jealousy and hatred, but seeing the girl so _happy_ while she was trapped and distraught _infuriated her._ The girl in question had stopped and stared at Diana's curled up form. Taking cautious steps toward her, her arms reaching out to the crying girl. 

"Diana?"

A commotion of noise behind her caused Akko to turn away from the crying blonde for a moment, in the doorway stood the fox.

"Amanda?" Came the mix of Akko, Hannah and Barbara's voices at the fox's odd silence and posture. Akko took a step back, she had made sure not to wear her uniform this time, and everything was fine five minutes ago. _What's going on?_

The brunette glanced again at Diana, who was now glaring at her. Her eyes no longer blue, but black, her tears matching the shade as they continued to spill. Her blonde and mint green hair disheveled as she slowly rose to her feet. A creak once again drew the brunette's attention, the fox had moved. Much like the other night. Except Akko was in a room with one door, her chance of escaping this time had a lower chance of success. It launched at her, it's hook swinging aimlessly. With a yelp Akko dove out of the way, right into the lap of the golden suit. Akko squirmed to get out of the suit, which somehow trapped her in its embrace, holding her for execution by fox. She stared up at her attacker, it's jaw ever open and its pinpricks-for-eyes glaring down at her. It lifted its hook, aiming to swing for her face. 

"Akko!"

Pain shot through her face, only to be cut short by a pair of purple arms wrapping around the fox, followed by two brown helping to pull it back. Bright yellow flashed in the brunette's vision, pulling her away from the Golden Freddy bot. The fox was screeching and repeating it's signature phrase as it thrashed against the holds of Andrew and Barbara. Akko could only stare at the scene as Hannah took form outside the chicken, opting to appear to Akko as something less imposing.

"-kko.. Akko!" Akko snapped out of her stupor as Hannah stared at her with the most concern she'd ever seen from the girl.

"There you are... are you okay?" The auburn haired girl asked cautiously, staring at the nasty gash across Akko's face. The gash started at her temple, creating a deep red line across her face, curving to cross her nose and fade before her other eye. 

Instead of answering, Akko numbly felt the scratch, feeling the blood drip down her face. How could she answer? Just minutes ago she had managed to joke with the others, only to hear crying from the parts room. She had been planning to bring Diana out of the room anyway, so she had gone to the room quicker than she had originally planned. She just wanted to say hi to the others - mostly in hope of a less awkward interaction. She had gotten that wish, only to be almost killed _again_. 

_What had even riled up Amanda like that? Was it even her?_

Hannah was waving her hands in front of the brunette again, she had zoned out for the second time in the last few minutes. That gash wasn't too deep was it? Honestly the girl had never cared much for Akko, she was loud and annoying. Always challenging Diana when the blonde was _clearly_ superior to her. However seeing her after all this time? After realising how long it had actually been? After the way she died..

Hannah couldn't not like her anymore. She had mulled over her actions from when she was living, she was endlessly unfair to the girl. Dying the way she did, the feeling of helplessness as someone broke her psyche and bones. Whilst she had not exactly been that way to the brunette, she did have some semblance to how the brunette felt. Plus, her rush to save the girl had mostly been borne out of not wanting to see _anyone_ die in that room ever again. 

"Akko! Come on stay on this planet please!"

Akko broke from her stupor again.

"I'm.. I'm okay.. Thank you Hannah.."

"Don't worry about it."

Akko gave her a bright smile, just to soothe Hannah's worry. Despite being the one who went through the experience. However, as Hannah looked at that smile, the more she saw how affected Akko actually was. The smile itself wasn't really that bright, but Hannah had to give props to her skill for acting. With a raised eyebrow, she gave the brunette some space, allowing her to move to Diana. Diana. Who hadn't stopped glaring at Akko since she stepped foot in the room. What was up with her?

Diana tensed as the girl got closer, backing up against her suit. 

**"Go away!** "

Yet Akko, who never did as she was told, only got closer. 

"It's okay, did you do that to Amanda?"

_Had she?_ Had Diana managed to _control_ her? She looked over to where the fox was, only to see it being dragged out of the now very claustrophobic room. It just wasn't meant to hold a lot of big animatronics. Hannah and Akko were the only two in front of her now. She felt her anger dying, but unyielding to the brunette. 

**"Go away.."**

Akko smiled at her, stopping to kneel down to see her face-to-face. Diana was shaking, only now seeing the gash on the brunette's face.

_What have I done?-_

"I'm sorry"

Diana was _shocked_. The last of her rage dying away as her eyes reverted to their normal hue. Akko apologised to her. The girl hadn't done anything to her, she didn't kill her, she didn't cause her any harm. She had simply existed near her and Diana had turned into that _monster_ of hate. She could still feel it pulling at the corners of her mind, begging her to let it back out. She hurt her. Yet Akko apologised, with such sincerity anyone would think that that Japanese girl had run over her dog. 

"I should've come to see you earli-"

"Stop"

"Wha?"

"Akko, you realise that I just _tried to kill you?_ "

Akko looked puzzled but allowed the Brit to continue.

"I.. am so.. _very_ sorry.. It.. It isn't safe for you with me. I - oh _look what I did to your face!_ "

She was a monster. Diana had become the beast that had killed her, she was so envious that Akko was alive that she had tried to take it like some kind of disgruntled child. Even Hannah, who was behind Akko at this point, was shooting her a look of disappointment. She always had so much control over herself. Yet she lost that so quickly, so easily. With a shaking hand she traced the line across Akko, whilst her hand technically went through, she could feel the pain the girl was in by the way she flinched at the movement. 

"Diana it's okay.."

She shot a glare at the Japanese girl, "What?"

"It's okay, I mean i didn't enjoy being chased by a big evil fox again" She chuckled, "but you're right to be angry.. I mean, I act like nothing's happened with you, I don't even know how you.. y'know.."

Diana sighed, "You.. don't want to know.."

Akko gave Hannah a pleading look, as if asking to give them space, to which she rolled her eyes. With a "yeah, yeah." she sauntered out of the room. When she was gone, Akko moved to the suit, hoping it wouldn't trap her again, and sat in it's lap. It took her everything she had not to laugh at Diana's subsequent blush.

"W-what're you doing?"

"Making you feel better! duh."

It worked last time, so Akko decided to stick with a winning formula. Diana leaned against her own suit, offering a small smile to the girl. 

"You're not alone y'know. Hannah, Barbara, Amanda and even Andrew care about you.. and eachother."

"And you?"

"Of course I do! I would've left you here otherwise" Akko grinned. 

Diana looked into Akko's sleepy eyes, she wanted to know what she hid in that mind of hers. For as happy and carefree as Akko was, she was also just as guarded as the heiress, it was clearly visible in Akko's exhaustion. Diana felt a warmth in her hand, glancing at the suit she noticed, Akko was holding one of the suit's hands. She closed her own eyes, letting her head rest near Akko's, exhaustion taking over her too.

At around 5 Hannah wandered into the room to check on her two friends. She didn't expect to find Akko snuggled against the golden suit, clutching its hand. She most certainly didn't expect to see Diana Cavendish asleep too, her hand gently hovering over Akko's as she snuggled against the same suit. Hannah rolled her eyes.

"Jesus Akko, you are _very_ bad at your job" 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry again for a shortish chapter..  
> Hope you enjoyed!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Basically sad Akko

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I was missing this story so I decided to give you a short chapter.

For the majority of the next day, Akko stayed in bed. Her departure from the restaurant the night prior had been awkward, to say the least. Diana had still been out of it - maybe ghosts got tired too - so Akko pulled a stealthy exit. 

The brunette could only collapse in her bed when she got back to her dorm, completely disregarding the cut on her face and the blood that probably stained her bedding. 

She was half awake when she heard Sucy and Lotte stir, getting ready for the morning. She was also aware of Lotte nudging her, attempting to wake her; with a disgruntled huff, Akko lifted her head to scowl at the bespectacled girl. _Couldn't they just let her sleep?_

"Oh my- Akko what happened?"

What? Oh, right. The cut. 

"Wow Akko, get in a fight or something?" Sucy drawled from behind, "Did you startle a textbook?"

Ha. Ha. Sucy Manbavaran, comedic _genius_.

"Sucy! Not the time." Lotte hissed at the girl behind her. Akko only huffed.

"Yeah. Shut up, Sucy." 

Well, that was new. Akko usually just whined at the taller girl, she had never out-right talked back to her. Lotte's shocked gaze turned into one of concern, while Sucy only frowned at Akko's new 'No Bullshit' mood.

Lotte traced a finger across the cut, eliciting a yelp from Akko, who wasn't keen on being poked. With a frown, Lotte then shot a glance at Sucy - who somehow understood exactly what the shorter girl wanted - who moved to grab the first aid kit from under her bed. 

The next five minutes were spent cleaning the brunette's face and said brunette moaning and whining about it. 

"Okay, done. Akko.. Are you gonna tell us what happened?"

Akko pondered telling her friends about the restaurant, about Diana and Amanda and the others. However, she wasn't stupid - despite popular belief - they had more chance believing that she studied. There's no way she wouldn't sound like a loon if she told them.

"No."

Sucy huffed, "Hey, jerk, she's only worrying about you."

The brunette pinched the bridge of her nose. _When did she pick that up?_ "Well, I didn't ask for her to."

Lotte turned her gaze to the floor, while Sucy moved in front of her. She was growing tired of Akko's avoiding them, not telling them the whole truth; Sucy didn't care about a lot of things, heck she went out of her way to avoid anything too emotionally exhausting. But her friends? Especially the two that shared her room, they mattered. So right now, as Lotte stared defeated at the ground, she couldn't ignore Akko's deteriorating temper anymore. 

"It doesn't matter if you didn't ask. Lotte- _We_ care about you, dumbass! So stop pushing us away!"

When the brunette wouldn't respond, Sucy growled. "You know what? Fine. Don't talk. Come find us when you're done being a child," She grabbed Lotte and moved to the door, finishing with something she knew was wrong - it just slipped out. "God, you're acting so much like Diana."

Akko perked up, shooting a glare at the Filipino. "What was that?"

Standing to her full height, Sucy shot a glare straight back at the brunette, ignoring Lotte's pleas from beside her. "You heard me. This is _textbook_ stuck-up-bitch behaviour. What, you think you're too good to tell us anything?" Lotte was tugging harder now

"Sucy, stop.."

"You think you're the only one who suffered when they died? The only one who took it bad?"

_So_ that's _what this is about._

Sucy carried on, " _Everyone did!_ You grieve and you move on, dammit. You don't get to treat your friends like this, holding us at arms length and shooting us down when we try to help. You think that's fair? _Do you?_ "

Akko opened her mouth to speak, but Sucy wasn't finished yet. "Did you go see someone like I _told_ you to? Did you take any of what I said to you seriously?" She let out a dry chuckle, "Or are we just jokes to you, Atsuko?" 

"I-" Akko tried. She had never seen the other girl so angry, Akko wondered if any words would soothe her. Sadly, her time to speak was cut short as Sucy dragged Lotte out with her, slamming the door behind them. 

Had she been that bad? She hadn't always kept them at arms length, she was always strong for them. She wanted to be strong for them, show them she was okay - she didn't need to be coddled, she didn't _want_ to be. Precisely because she wasn't the only one affected. Her act was foolproof before, it had been. At least, she thought it had. Akko stared down at her hands.

Lotte took it all rather hard, she was naturally soft and empathetic, after all. It took Akko hours to cheer her up, hours of shoulder crying and sad songs; whispering sweet nothings and staying through nightmares to make life tolerable for the girl. 

Sucy had opted to quiet down, mimicking Constanze. Akko remembered prodding the girl until she got annoyed, willingly being a part of the taller girl's experiments just so she could see the girl's signature sinister smile. It worked, of course - even if the experiments were a bit much.

A large amount of her savings went into taking Jas around to her favourite places to eat, listening - with tissues on hand - as the Russian girl told countless stories bout Amanda. Then Jas moved away, Akko couldn't be there for her anymore.

Cons was the hardest, she had locked everyone out. Stopped eating despite Jas' requests, and threw herself into her little projects. Akko forced herself into the girl's life, bringing her things when she needed - much to the German's chagrin - and forcing the girl to let her help. Until, finally they made something beautiful. Something that Constanze was proud of. Then Cons moved too, Akko couldn't help her anymore either. 

Through it all she smiled. Smiled wide for everyone, harnessing her inner performer to make everyone happy. Wasn't that her dream anyway? She _wanted_ to help, to help everyone make it through and, in turn, make it through herself. Yet, thinking back, the first time she actually cried for those lost was at the restaurant, a few nights ago. After all the work she put in helping others, wow, she was so tired. 

_She's still tired_.

Akko glanced at her clock. _When was the last time she got a full night?_ Then, she pointed her gaze at the door, _what about class?_ Akko pursed her lips, eyes scanning her room thoughtfully. Her mind went back to Sucy's talk with her, then further to the times Lotte had asked her about class. The times they covered for her, made sure she ate, made sure she got up for work. Most of the time she brushed them off, she was _fine._

Yet, through every memory, not once does she remember _actually_ grieving. Not in all the five years. It hit her hard in the restaurant, sure, but she had fallen asleep not too long after. Plus, she had been _seeing_ all of them. 

But, they weren't really there anymore. All of them were dead and Akko had unconsciously pushed it all back. Now it was all rushing back at her, full speed like a train. 

_They're all dead. She may see them but they're gone._

She couldn't breathe, barely managing to gasp every so often as hot tears burst from her eyes, faintly irritating her cut. It was too much. The dam she had unconsciously built had been cracking for so long - and she left it too long - that now, as it burst, she was defenseless to the rush of water threatening to drown her. The rush of emotion, the reality of the situation making itself very clear. 

_Her friends were murdered_.

She needed to be angry, had to be angry for her friends. For Amanda, for Hannah, Barbara and Andrew. Angry for Diana, Diana who was breaking inside at what she's gone through. 

She needed to be strong. Strong for Sucy, strong for Lotte. Strong for her mother, who needed to be able to work. 

This wasn't _about_ her, it would be so selfish of her to draw anyone's attention. She didn't deserve it. She hurt Lotte and Sucy. She had to help the ghosts of her friends. They all deserved to be happy, to move on; they didn't need to pity Akko, Akko didn't want them to pity her. The tears didn't stop, bringing shame as they fell. Akko was alive, healthy and strong. 

All that mattered now was apologising.

  


* * *

  


Akko had been wandering around campus for a while now, finding her two friends was proving to be a difficult feat. She pondered over the fact that they might not want to be found, so the brunette switched direction. She made a bee-line for Chariot's office, silently praying that she would be alone.

Stopping outside the door, Akko moved to knock, when she heard arguing. 

"You never told me you were a _suspect!"_

"Baby, I'm sorry.. I honestly thought that was public knowledge! Plus they have nothing on me."

"Croix, I'm a _teacher_.. I shouldn't be dating a murder suspect! Especially a murder suspect to five _children!"_

_Slap_   


Akko flinched. That was completely uncalled for, forget knocking, she burst straight into the office instead. 

Croix was standing over the desk, arm frozen in the forbidden motion, eyes fiery. Those eyes flickered to Akko, irritation lingering behind faux fear and regret. Akko grimaced at the sight, this woman had no right to touch her mother, her chest tightened at the scene.

Chariot was also staring at her, true fear dancing in her eyes. Her mouth was agape and a nasty read mark spread over her cheek. However, the fear wasn't for Croix anymore, rather the nasty cut on Akko's face. Forgetting Croix - who scowled at the loss of the moment - Chariot rushed to her daughter.

"Akko! What happened to you!"

The girl dumbly traced over the wound, mind working for an excuse as to why she would have a cut of this nature. It was one thing to keep it from her friends, but Chariot was a different beast - once motherly instinct kicked in, there was only Akko's well-being on her mind. In the end she opted for, "It was just an accident at work." Making sure to be as calm as possible to give her mother some piece of mind. Her way of saying, _don't worry about me, I'm all good._

Behind them, Croix huffed. "You should know better than to burst into a member of staff's office, Akko."

Akko's anger flared again.

"Oh yeah? And what gives _you_ the right to hit my mum!"

"Akko, don't worry.. I-It's fine-"

"It _isn't!"_ The brunette shot at Chariot, before turning back to the source of her anger. 

"Listen to your mother, Akko. This has nothing to do with you."

Akko let out a hollow laugh, today has been enough for her. Today could go a drink some bleach. With a growl, Akko readied herself for a fight - if only Chariot hadn't placed a soft hand on her shoulder.

"Akko.. It's _okay_. Just let me deal with it, yeah?"

Relcutantly, Akko gave in. Allowing herself to be lead back through the door, receiving a kiss on from her mother. Then she was locked out again. She found herself glaring at the door for a while longer, the arguing had since flared up again. When she finally had enough of listening, she stalked off.

What right did Croix have? To hit Chariot? To kill those kids? Because _yes,_ Akko was 110% that Croix was the culprit. They way she fakes, she performs - a rather transparent attempt, in Akko's eyes - and how she is so quick to turn to violence. Now all that was left was to get her to Diana, let those she hurt decide her fate. Akko would go back to her dorm and wait for her shift to start, then form a plan with the ghosts. They deserved closure.

_They deserved to move on._   


  


* * *

  


Croix scowled at Chariot, not happy that _Akko_ got in the way of her asserting dominance. How would she be able to show Chariot any discipline if her damn daughter got in the way. She wanted Chariot, not the baggage she came with. That would need to be dealt with. Quickly. 

Softening her expression, she leaned into Chariot, whispering apologies and expressions of love in her ear. The woman was rather easy to win back over. 

"I feel.. Like I was rather harsh with Akko."

Chariot nodded at the taller woman dumbly, eyes hazed from Croix's words of love. "Then go apologise, darling."

"Would you mind giving me her dorm number?"

Chariot is all too happy to give it, 'anything to have her two favourite people get along' she preached. Not before reminding her that their talk about her involvement with the Fazbear case would need to be finished. Calmly. Croix nodded, smile etched on her face. No way would she need to finish that conversation, Chariot was predictable. Distracting her was all too easy. By the time Croix was finished, there would be no thought of rebellion in the woman, no thought of that stupid murder case.

_No thought of Akko._   


  


* * *

  


There was a plan to study until the day was up, Akko grimaced at how far behind she was. Then there was a knock at the door.

Grumbling, she opened the door to an eerily calm Croix. Smile spreading as she became visible in the doorway. Before giving the brunette a chance to speak, the older woman shoved her way in, pulling the latch on the door.  


A distinct memory of a big fox came to mind. Akko backed up against her desk, falling into a sitting position on it as she did, "What- What are you doing?"

That smile only stretched, "I feel we need to have a heart to heart.. But not here."

Another step. The younger girl felt herself tremble, this woman was moving so slow, yet her movements were poison. Paralysis and fear took over, the fox seemed like nothing. The hand came out, reaching so close. Akko snapped into action. Pushing past Croix to fumble with the latch, eliciting a groan behind her. The cloth came around her face, _what an odd smell._ Fingers slowed, unable to fiddle with the last. Crimson eyes dulled to a brown, eyelids drooping over them. 

_She was so tired._   


The Japanese girl fell limp in Croix's arms. "Sleep tight Akko, we'll talk in a while."

The sun was setting when Croix decided to move the girl, she had become somewhat lucid a few times. Nothing a bit more chloroform couldn't fix. Hauling Akko over her shoulders, she crept down the corridor; keeping out of sight was difficult, Professor Finnelan had almost caught them more than once - that hag was a nightmare. 

Finally, they had gotten to Croix's Jeep. With the girl safely stuffed into the boot, Croix made her way to the restaurant. She'd be lying if she said she didn't miss it, it was her hunting ground, a place where she felt powerful. If she hadn't spent so long with the last ones, her place of play wouldn't have been shut off to her - or at least she wouldn't have been suspected. As it came into view, she felt herself smile, nostalgia settling in. Well then.

_Time to get to work._   


  


* * *

  


was a burning on her wrists, ankles too. She shuffled, attempting to make out her surroundings - yet her wrists wouldn't budge, it only burned more. She tried to speak, but something muffled it beyond recognition. She managed to look down through the eye-holes - _what was on her face? -_ to see a purple uniform. _The_ purple uniform. She shuffled again, the sound of a phone ringing in her ears. Headphones maybe? She shuffled more as the ringing got louder, boring into her ears and making her eyes water. She wanted to scream, cry - _something._

_Click._   


The ringing stopped, giving way to a voice. A voice she knew.

"Hey, Akko! Sorry I couldn't be there, Chariot was worrying about me, you see. Uh - we talked everything out. She's such a gem you know, your mum. Wow. The way she'll _listen_ and _obey._ It was way to easy to win her back, oh - the way she treated me after. She's _amazing_ in bed- hah, maybe you're too young to know that. _Anyway_ I just want you to know, I'll look after her. Take good care of her,"

Akko screamed into her gag, the chipper way Croix spoke dug into her ears, making her head ring its own tune. 

"-cause.. well - you see. She doesn't need you for gratification anymore. I always thought the platonic love of a child was kinda _overrated_. She needs something fulfilling and _real_. Something - or - someone.. like me! Plus, you were rather forceful earlier, heck you _scared_ me. Definitely scared your mother. She doesn't deserve that abuse, Akko. Who knew you were such a selfish child. Welp, better tell ya what's going on right?"

Akko could feel the tears streaming, but couldn't hear herself cry. Croix's voice was just _so loud._ It had to stop. She needed it to stop.

"If you haven't already realised, you're at Fazbears. Part of me thought to put you in the office, but I feel it's more fun - plus a bit quicker - if I just left you in the dining hall. Um - don't worry! I moved everything out of the way - it's a lot easier to do when you go after hours haha. But yeah, gotta give the robots a path, right? So, I put you in uniform - _duh_ it's regulation! Oh, and I put a blank mask on your face. Apparently the kids that died were in your class or something? I can't run the risk of recognition, gotta have pieces to bury, y'know? A whole body is a bit more troublesome."

Oh God. She was going to be _sick_.

"I will say, I didn't want to do this. You brought this upon yourself. Welp, I've kept you long enough - plus they'll wake up soon, can't have you distracted by l'il ol' me can I? I have to pluck the evil bud from the plant, you were preventing Chariot from blooming to her full potential. Plus, I know you suspect me. Can't have that. Anyway, it was nice to meet you, Atsuko Kagari. I'll tell Chariot you love her, yeah? Or maybe I won't. _Peace._ "

Then, only a monotonous beep filled her ears. Until that was finished too. So only silence greeted her.

She could vaguely make out the sunken shape of a bear, a golden bear. Croix must've pulled it out of the parts room, the other's remained in place though - all staring lifelessly at her. Possibly mulling things over. Would they recognise her?

From her left, came the screech of metal. Then a shuffle from the stage. A white pinprick turned to her, the golden suit was awake.

_Something was running straight for her._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof?


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, Akko.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> do I apologise for the cliffhanger last chapter?  
> no. no i don't :P  
> Oh wow, I completely disregarded my own schedule for this story.. oops?  
> Oh well, do enjoy lol

Purple.

It filled her vision, blocking out everything else. It tore through reality, her grip on herself, the darkness kept whispering as she stared. Slowly getting louder, telling her to act. _Making her act._

The conscious part of her, telling her that the person was tied up and masked, that she was crying underneath; that part was silenced. The rage that had been bubbling for so long burst the banks, flooding her mind, drowning her. The mask disappeared, the bonds, the chair. 

~~_The violent sobs._ ~~

The purple uniform was all she saw, that purple woman. Revenge played its sweet melody in her head, _it would all be over when she killed it_. It would all be over when _they_ killed it. The monster that haunted them for years, tricked them with kind smiles and shining promises. Ripping them apart in a display of crimson and _purple_. Her influence stained them like a bruise, one that wouldn't ever fade. 

The rage wracked her body, forcing something sinister to action. She held the monster's glare, prepared to slay it like the beast it was. A cunning fox charged, hook in hand, attacking the foe, knocking it onto its side. Next came the chicken, eyes dark and dripping; gripping hair in it's metal claws. It pulled and tore, crimson mixing with the tainted colour of the beast. 

~~_Her hair, it's brown._ ~~

The rabbit gazed down at the beast, regarding its colour with no emotion - as it should - but with disgust shining deep within. Bringing a large guitar down, blood splattered, its arm splayed free of those bonds. Painted a new colour. Faintly came the muffled cries and sobs as the beast tried to beg for mercy. The gall. It had no right. 

They all looked to her, her knights. Her heroes. Waiting for acknowledgement, eyes reflecting the darkness of her own. The beast still whimpering, cowering as its bonds came loose. Uselessly attempting to escape its fate, crawling pathetically across the floor. That wouldn't do.

_~~Why is she so small?~~ _

The fox struck again, foot connecting with its gut. Then it froze. 

~~_Why is she bound?_ ~~

New voices filled her head, begging and pleading.

_Stop!_

_She'll die!_

_We're hurting her!_

Her? No. The beast deserved its pain, its anguish. It tore them apart, so they would tear _it_ apart. So it continued.

Beaten.

~~_Stop_ ~~

Bashed.

_~~You'll kill her!~~ _

Bruised.

_~~She's not **Her.**~~ _

Bloodied.

**_It's Akko!_ **

A pause. Akko. Who was Akko. Brown hair, short, _red._ Akko was red, not purple. Annoying. Akko was annoying, always challenging Diana, always getting in her way. 

The darkness pulled, trying to get revenge, it's Croix! Croix is there! She's wearing that _uniform!_

Akko was kind, she was.. comforting. Always forgave and forgot, always friendly. She had so many friends. Diana could've been her friend.

The characters in front of her convulsed. a fight for control. A fight for revenge. 

Akko was sad. She knew that, she hid it well, but Diana knew the signs - followed them herself. 

The characters were still, all staring. Staring at Akko. Staring at Diana.

Akko was beaten. She was bleeding out, her arm - _oh God, her arm!_ This had to stop. She had to gain control, this was her life, her choice. 

_Who's the real beast?_

Control. Darkness silenced - for now - control for herself, control for her friends. Now they had a new mission.

**_Save her._ **

* * *

Red gleamed over the purple, the mask had long since slipped off of her face. Akko could only stare as she felt herself lifted into a metal embrace. The Fox. No hook, just a hand and a stump. From the side, she could hear the scraping of a table, followed by the crash of played and cutlery. Then from the metal embrace she moved to a flat surface. _Where was she again?_

Shouting, it sounded distant, yet it also sounded in her ear. Arguing. Despite the pain, the corners of her mouth curled, familiarity comforting her as the arguing continued.

"Jesus, Amanda! We need to call an ambulance!"

"Oh, right yeah, let me just whip out my phone- Oh wait!"

"Is now really the time for sarcasm?"

It was all so _warm_ , as if they were at school. Akko would get herself into trouble and everyone would argue about the consequence. Looks like she got them all caught up in her trouble again, she knew she had to think before she acted. Couldn't help that trouble followed her around every corner. 

Hannah glared at Andrew, "How are you so calm! Look what we did to her!

"It's not as if I don't care, but the more we panic, the more likely we lose Miss Kagari." Andrew felt his eye twitch. 

The bickering continued, Hannah shouting at Amanda, Amanda shouting back and Andrew admonishing them both. Akko couldn't help the broken chuckle that escaped her lips. They didn't notice Barbara moving to her side, eyes glistening with regret. Nor Diana's wide stare, aimed straight at the brunette. A translucent hand hovered over her forehead, red eyes met dark blue with tears bubbling around them. 

"I- we are _so_ sorry, Akko. We couldn't- I couldn't see you, we just- just acted out- I don't-" 

She was cut of by a giggle from the injured girl, "Never thought I'd see the day where Barbara Parker - or, any of you three really - would apologise to _me_." The laughter became slightly fuller, only interrupted by a short groan from one of her wounds, "Am I dreaming?"

Now she realised how Akko always had so many people following her, she was _infectious_. Her cries mingled with a short laugh as Akko lifted the burden of their actions, carrying the weight _with_ her. She took forgive and forget to a new level, shouldn't she be afraid? Or, at least angry? Barbara felt her finger tracing some of the visible scratches and bruises Akko carried, most of which were nothing more than superficial - thank God. However, that finger froze when she reached Akko's right arm. The sleeve of the uniform was ruined, ripped all the way up to her shoulder. There wasn't any skin visible, red covered most of her upper arm and around her elbow, a deep crater lie underneath. Her forearm held deep gashes where the guitar strings sliced and cut her. There was doubt that Akko would gain much use of her arm in the future, if at all. Akko noted the girl's expression, lifting her better arm to wave in front of her face.

"It's okay."

"W- what?"

"I'm not mad. I know you guys didn't mean it - look the bleeding is even starting to slow."

Barbara wanted to speak again, tell Akko that she was being irrational, as usual. But Amanda and Hannah had their own plans. Setting off the alarms.

"You didn't need to break the windows, Amanda!"

Barbara glanced at Akko, who rolled her eyes at Hannah's shout, and gave a simple nod before going to defuse her friend - especially now that Amanda was laughing.

Watching the girl disappear and the rabbit stumble off near to the front of the establishment, Akko took it as her queue to sit up. Her head complained, of course, and her limbs and wounds screamed at her. But she had to see if Diana was around. Sure enough, at the other end of the hall, stood Diana next to her suit, just outside the parts room. Her form trembling and eyes frozen on Akko. The brunette took it as a queue to get closer, lowering her feet to the floor, she attempted to stand.

"Don't."

Akko ignored her.

"Lie back down, you'll worsen your condition." She was growing frantic.

Akko stumbled, taking a minute to find her balance. Then, slowly, one foot at a time, she moved toward the Brit. 

"Wh- No _stay back_ , Akko."

Another step, then another and another until she reached her destination. Noting how Diana's figure shook and trembled, voice growing more and more frantic in her protests. Akko refused to stop until she walked through Diana and sat directly next to the suit behind her, forcing herself to disregard the chill of doing so. The injured girl steeled herself, she wasn't angry with Diana, but she was only human. Fear was inevitable.

Diana hadn't moved, still staring at the spot where Akko had been lying only moments prior. She couldn't turn to meet they eyes that she _knew_ were trained on her. This was the second time, the second time her rage hurt Akko. She shuddered to guess what expression the brunette was wearing. One of hate? Anger? Was she afraid of the monster she had become, would she want to leave and never return? 

"I wouldn't worry so much."

Diana had tried to kill her, tear her apart. 

" _What?_ "

"C'mon, Di. Most of these are just flesh wounds anyways! 'Police'll be here soon too, I'll be fine in no time." Akko was smiling, no doubt. 

The heiress swore by her name that she had never met someone so careless about her own life. She could've been condemned to the same hell as everyone else, become another body added to the least of the many faceless prior. 

"Diana, I'm _fine-_ "

" _No, Akko!_ What about _this_ is fine? Hell, what about this is _normal?_ You were just beaten and torn apart by us- by _me_ and now you just sit there like you've been through some minor inconvenience!" She whipped around to face Akko, "What you just went through was nothing short of _traumatic_ and you sit there- you- you sit there trying to comfort _me!_ Please, do excuse my language but _what the fuck, Akko?!"_

The girl below her sobered, her expression dimming into something unreadable. Stillness crept over her figure, Diana almost regretted losing her temper, the look didn't suit her. 

"Akko?" She knelt, arm gingerly reaching out to the brunette. 

"The others were so crushed when you guys dissappeared." Diana stilled.

"Well, admittedly it was mostly for Amanda, we were closer with her y'know? But I definitely did miss you too. Even your two yes-men."

Diana bit back a smile at the jab. 

"Anyway, the others - y'know Lotte, Sucy, Jas, Cons; that lot - they took it super hard. It was chilling to watch their personalities _flip_ like that. It was like they were zombies."

The way Akko spoke, she really only referred to her friends. _Why wasn't Akko including herself?_

"Well, I - uh - hah, I couldn't bare to see them like that. I mean, sure, I was hurting too but... They seemed to be affected so much more and I just _had_ to see if I could at least cushion their fall. I'm not stupid, I know I can't take it away, but I can numb it a little - take some of the weight - make life bearable."

"What about _you?"_

She seemed taken aback by the question, crimson flickering with uncertainty. "I mean, I was fine with helping. Wouldn't have done it if I couldn't handle it, guess I took it.. better."

Images of her mother flooded her mind, helping people until it inevitably killed her. "That isn't _healthy_."

"Haha, neither is being beaten up by a gang of disgruntled robots, to be fair."

The whine of sirens sounded in the distance, along with the stomp of four huge robots, scrambling for the stage. Akko regarded the robots with a chuckle, blood-loss and exhaustion finally catching up with her. "Looks like my ride's here," she muttered, leaning into the suit she sat next to. Rather than replying, Diana gave a small hum in agreement, slowly disappearing back to her vessel.

"No need to worry about me, Di. They'll take care of me."

The blonde huffed to herself. _They had better._

* * *

The sun shone mockingly into her eyes when she woke up again, the monotonous beeping of a heart monitor easing her into the land of the living. Not-so-silently cursing the sun, Akko sat up, stiff sheets somewhat working against her as she did. However, she noted an imbalance on one side of her body, an arm that should've supported her weight as she struggled to sit up, but didn't. Granted, she couldn't exactly move it earlier at the restaurant, but she had reckoned that was due to shock - and the pain that followed. Eyes trailing to her right, she searched for the arm that should be present.

_It wasn't._

This wasn't right. She could _feel_ it, the pain of the gashes and the rips. But there was no image to support her claim. She loosely noted a speed-up in the monitor, panic taking a firm grip on her lungs and _squeezing_. How long had she been out? _Where on earth was her arm?!_

Suddenly, the door burst open. Chariot running in, frantically rushing to her daughter and wrapping her in a tight hug. "I'm so sorry, Akko."

_How many times had she heard that now?_

Behind her came Croix, wearing the same worried expression as her girlfriend, and made her way to the other side of the bed, squeezing her good hand. _Her only hand._

"Sorry, kiddo.." Akko grimaced at her, "Your arm apparently got infected, they tried to save it but.." She trailed off, the rest being obvious. Then, without warning, joined the hug Chariot initiated, taking the opportunity to lean into Akko's ear. 

" _Watch your back."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that was short.  
> Also, sorry Akko.  
> Also can I add that the others were totally eavesdropping? Cause they were.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy!

The hospital room became her home for at least a month. No real visitors apart from Chariot and Croix - the latter only being there to shoot down any lies that she was the reason for Akko's state. It worked, of course, Akko was almost out of it at the restaurant so she was obviously seeing things. 

"Oh, sweetheart, I promise you it wasn't her. It's just your mind, the concussion - Croix would never dream of hurting you." Chariot would say, with Croix right behind with a reassuring smile and thumbs up. No matter what Akko said, she was at a disadvantage. The hearts ever present in her mothers eyes acted as the wool to blind her from the truth, no use arguing while she was in a state of recovery. So she let it go. For now at least. 

After her month at the hospital, Akko was moved back to her dorm. She would resume her lessons in isolation, however, to allow her to adjust to her life. Her situation made trying to make up with her roommates a tad easier - only a tad though, though somewhat sympathetic, Sucy was still annoyed at her. 

Lotte had all but broken down at the sight of Akko, reaching out and squeezing her as if she would disappear any minute. Sucy watched, physical contact was never her forte, but a nod in Akko's direction told her that Sucy was glad she was okay. However, the time came when Lotte went out to give the two some space, not everything was resolved after all. Sucy moved to sit on her own bed, giving unsure glances at her friend along the way; Akko kept her eyes on the floor (or anywhere that wasn't Sucy really) and absentmindedly trailed her fingers over the nub where her arm used to be, the sting caused her to pull it away.

The awkwardness of it all led to two different sentences mingling together, coming out like an off-tune guitar. Akko took initiative, quieting herself for her friend to talk, said friend was ever thankful.

"I know I could lecture you right now." Akko gave an unsure glance, with a dodge from the eye contact, Sucy continued, "I could tell you that keeping all your bad thoughts in and disregarding your friends when they show concern for you is.. rude at best. At worst, cruel. I could even shout at you for being such an idiot all the time." She chuckled, sending Akko a pointed stare.

"But I won't." Akko and Sucy momentarily met each other's eyes before averting again.

"So, what do you want to say?"

Sucy met her eyes again, lips pressed together as if she was contemplating what to say - or rather if she should say it. The tension left when she found her internal answer.

"How are you?"

In fairness, it was a simple question. It should be easy enough for Akko to answer, she seemed to agree with herself when she opened her mouth to answer. But then she stopped, like her mind had done a double take on the question. 'How are you?' 

An automatic answer would be 'I'm fine.' with a side of cheer to make the asker more secure about the given answer, yet Akko's mouth wouldn't grace Sucy with that response. That side of cheer wouldn't be plausible, she couldn't fake it when exhaustion had finally overtaken her. So she went over some events in her head, maybe try and tell the truth for once. 

The disappearance.

Comforting her remaining friends.

Two of those friends leaving.

Finding out her friends were dead.

The glance at their trauma.

Battling with her two remaining friends.

Knowing who their killer was.

Having their killer attempt to kill her.

Being beaten to a pulp by her friends.

Losing her arm.

Those crimson eyes widened an inch, it was so much. She had managed to lock it all away, wear a smile and everything will be fine, right? Well, it was. For a while anyway. Helping others always helped her, seeing them feeling better gave her the same feeling. It was good until the high wore off, so not thinking about anything made it better. Never once did she reckon it would come back to bite her one day. A small chant rang in her ears, trying to get her attention.

"-kko.. Akko!"

Akko jolted up to meet Sucy's eyes again.

"You spaced out there, got an answer for me?"

In truth, she still wanted to say she was fine, push everything back down where it belonged. But she couldn't. With a choke, her eyes bore into Sucy, that choke evolved to a sob, which ended in Akko with tears cascading down her cheeks. Years of exhaustion and holding the world up finally fell back down, her body convulsed and wracked with sorrow, her sobs being the only noise her mouth could make. Instinctively, she drew into herself, backing up to the wall and muffling herself with her arm. Yet, along with the sorrow, came relief. The tears made her feel lighter, burdens that she shared with everyone - along with the ones she carried alone - rolled down her cheeks. Sucy being the only one to see her, gave her some of the haul Akko carried. 

She almost missed the weight that appeared next to her. The arms that wrapped around her and pulls her into a warm chest, steering clear of her wound. Yet upon noticing it, she couldn't help but let out a choked chuckle - which Sucy reciprocated. 

"Doesn't that feel a bit better? You big idiot.." 

"Thanks"

Sucy paused, mulling the words. 

"It's fine."

_It will be._

* * *

It took a long while for Akko to return to her senses, longer still for her to explain everything to Sucy. Eventually, however, everything from finding her dead classmates to the reason she almost died was relayed. Akko shifted awkwardly on her spot of the bed, not so patiently waiting for the taller girl to reply. 

Sucy wasn't sure what to think. On one hand Akko had been through a lot, her mind could be playing tricks on her. On the other, Sucy wanted Akko to open up, it must've taken a lot for the other girl to tell her story so who was she to deny that it held truth. However, if it did hold truth, then she and Lotte could truly lose Akko. There's no doubt that the brunette loved to help people, there was also no doubt that she doesn't know how to give up. How long before her dangerous activities caught up with her - heck, they almost did. Knowing this as she did, Sucy found it increasingly difficult to maintain her usual calm, bored demeanor. 

Sucy didn't want to stop her friend, but steer her in the right direction - away from pointless recklessness. 

"I know, you think I'm crazy too, right?" Akko was drawing into herself again.

"No, I - jeez this is a lot - I believe you. I didn't like the look of your mum's girlfriend anyway." The Filipino grinned, eliciting a nervous chuckle from Akko, "But I want to see for myself- no - both Lotte and I want to. So take us with you on your next shift."

"Are you sure about Lotte?"

"You and I both know she's more capable than she looks" Akko chuckled, Sucy was right. A small creak drew both girls' attention to the door - or rather - the girl at the door.

"You both better believe I'm coming!" She shouted with a smile, before pouncing on her two friends and pulling them into an embraced. Akko choked back tears at the contact while Sucy made a sound of disgust at the prospect of more physical affection - she made no move to leave, though. Then, together they planned. 

First, they would all go to the restaurant, to see if Akko's claims were true. Then they would find a way to nail Croix - Akko insisted that they let their classmates decide, while Lotte recommended that they go to the relevant authorities. Sucy just wanted to mess about with some chemicals. Catching a woman who had been committing atrocities for years (without getting caught) would prove the most difficult. They would've discussed it more if the devil herself hadn't come to the door. 

"Hey, guys! Sorry, I just need to borrow Akko for a minute, 'kay?" With a look of encouragement from Sucy, Akko followed the killer out into the corridor.

With a huff, Akko began, "What do you want?"

"Is that any way to speak to your soon-to-be step-mum?"

"Why would I care about how I speak to a murd- wait, step-mum?"

Croix grinned, "I asked Chariot to marry me."

Akko scoffed, then gulped. They hadn't been going out for that long, had they? Chariot was always a careful person, why on earth would she say yes to something so out-of-the-blue? "Bit soon, don't you think?" Akko tried, with as much venom as she could muster. 

"Love is unpredictable, Akko. Anyway, with the upcoming marriage in mind, I'm gonna need you to stop with all the 'killer' talk."

"And what makes you think I will?"

Croix's grin morphed into a scowl, "You managed to get away with just an arm lost this time. How lucky will you be next time? I got you in that position easy enough once, I'll do it again." The scowl slowly returning to a bright smile as Akko's expression soured, "Anyway! Chari needs a maid of honour, right? That would obviously be you! Gosh, are you excited as I am or what?"

The younger girl coughed, forcing a laugh at Croix's pointed glare. "Colour me stoked.."

"Good girl. Come down to the office later, yeah? You're not working tonight anyway."

Rather than invoke Croix's wrath, Akko merely nodded as the woman walked away. When she turned the corner, Akko scurried back into her dorm where her two roommates were staring at her expectantly. 

"So?"

The brunette turned to Sucy and gulped, "We're gonna need to move quicker, they're getting married.." The gasp from the other two made it known that they felt the same way Akko did.

"But you can't go back into work for at least another two weeks!" Lotte gestured frantically at her friend, to which Akko grinned. It had been a while since the three of them did anything fun together. Saying nothing, Akko took out her phone and texted Chariot, letting her know that she was busy tonight and would meet with her tomorrow. 

"Akko?"

"What do you guys say to hanging out tonight?" Akko said with a grin. 

Both of her friends smiled, Sucy let out a cackle at her friend, "We're sneaking in?"

Akko grinned back, "We're sneaking in."

Lotte rolled her eyes, but smiled anyway. Some things never change. 

* * *

Amanda sat in the pirates cove, head in hands and eyes trained on the opposite wall. Not that the restaurant wasn't somber already, but since Akko's last 'visit' everyone had been extra silent. Diana had almost ordered Andrew to drag the suit back into the parts room - a room she hated in the first place - while Hannah and Barbara comforted each other in the girls bathroom. Andrew, well he didn't exactly change at all, par being moodier than usual. 

No one wanted to talk about it and no one really wanted to talk to each other. The American wanted to say that she was bored, but she was closer to feeling regret. 

She wasn't able to protect her friends when it happened, she was the first one to be incapacitated. If she had been stronger, maybe the rest of them would be alive, Diana might've finally talked to Akko. She would always deny it but Amanda would see tiny hearts in the Brit's eyes whenever Akko was doing something stupid or funny. Hannah and Barbara could've learned to be better people without being traumatised (or traumatising others). Andrew could.. continue doing whatever it is he does. 

None of that would happen though, as she simply wasn't strong enough. Amanda scanned over the wall to the stage. It had been a long time since any of them left the restaurant, something would always tell them that the road to freedom was to give their killer what she deserved. Yet she knew, none of them were killers, they wouldn't be able to get revenge on their killer.

She would bear that burden for them.

She was the most suited for it anyway. The hook, the jaw, her speed. She was practically a big metal killing machine already - why kids would be remotely interested in her is baffling. Either way it was settled.

Amanda would be the one to bring Croix down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to give any suggestions regarding Croix's fate  
> Right now i need icecream tho


End file.
